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Health

The Hospital Authority manages 15 full-time and 55 part-time smoking counselling and cessation centres. It operates a hotline providing booking and enquiry services for people who wish to quit smoking.

The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, an independent statutory body, advises the government on smoking, passive smoking and health matters, and publicises the hazards of smoking. The council also conducts publicity, education and community involvement campaigns, and receives enquiries and suggestions from the public on smoking and health.

matters.

Disease Prevention and Control

The department spent $7.2 billion on disease prevention and control at its maternal and child health centres, elderly health centres and similar facilities in 2019-20.

Centre for Health Protection

The Centre for Health Protection collaborates with local and international counterparts to prevent and control diseases in Hong Kong. It works on three principles: real-time surveillance, rapid intervention and responsive risk communication. The centre keeps track of communicable diseases and issues surveillance reports and laboratory data reports regularly.

A board of scientific advisers and six scientific committees meet periodically to help the centre formulate policies to improve the health protection system.

The centre maintains close liaison with district councils and solicits their support to disseminate health information and guidelines, alert the public to health threats, and facilitate rapid implementation of preventive measures. It also shares professional knowledge and experience in combating diseases with health authorities in the Mainland and Macao and with the WHO.

Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases

The Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance specifies 51 statutory notifiable infectious diseases in Hong Kong. In 2020, 16,453 cases were reported, of which 8,889 and 3,699 were diagnosed as COVID-19 and tuberculosis respectively.

The centre continually reviews and updates its strategies for coping with major outbreaks of infectious diseases, including an influenza pandemic, the Ebola virus disease, measles, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Zika virus infection and dengue fever, ensuring both the government and the community are prepared to deal with them.

Measures to Combat COVID-19

Hong Kong, like the rest of the world, was seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The government closely monitored the local and global situation, and took a range of measures against the pandemic covering the following areas:

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Acting in accordance with the law - The government invoked the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance to introduce specific regulations on a range of activities,

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